England captain Morgan suspended for fourth ODI against Pakistan

England captain Morgan suspended for fourth ODI against Pakistan

England captain Eoin Morgan will miss the fourth game of the Pakistan one-day international series after being suspended for maintaining a slow over-rate in Tuesday’s six-wicket win.

Morgan will miss Friday’s Trent Bridge contest and has also been fined 40 per cent of his match fee after England took nearly four hours to bowl 50 overs in Bristol.

Every England player has also been fined 20 per cent of their match fees for maintaining the slow over-rate.

England will have to do without their captain as they look to wrap up the series on Friday (Anthony Devlin/PA).

Richie Richardson, of the ICC’s elite panel of match referees, imposed the suspension on Morgan after England were ruled to be two overs short after time allowances were taken into consideration.

An ICC statement read: “In accordance with Article 2.22.1 of the ICC code of conduct for players and player support personnel, which relates to minor over-rate offences, players are fined 10 per cent of their match fees for every over their side fails to bowl in the allotted time, with the captain fined double that amount.”

Morgan’s ban is the result of him having also been found guilty of a minor over-rate offence during England’s ODI against the West Indies at Bridgetown in February.

The Bristol offence constituted his second minor over-rate offence within a 12-month period, so a one-match suspension was imposed.

England wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow has been reprimanded for breaching Level 1 of the ICC code of conduct.

Bairstow swiped the stumps with his bat after being bowled for 128 in the 29th over, as England successfully chased down a target of 359 to beat Pakistan.

Bairstow struck the stumps with his bat after being dismissed for 128 in against Pakistan at Bristol (David Davies/PA).

The ICC said: “Bairstow was found to have breached Article 2.2 of the ICC code of conduct for players and player support personnel, which relates to “abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings during an international match.

“In addition to this, one demerit point has been added to the disciplinary record of Bairstow, for whom it was his first offence since the introduction of the revised code in September 2016.”

Jos Buttler could take over the captaincy from Morgan at Trent Bridge after being rested at Bristol.

Hard-hitting batsman Buttler will be among the contenders to lead England against Pakistan in Morgan’s absence (Adam Davy/PA)

The 28-year-old deputised when Morgan rested himself from a Twenty20 international against South Africa at Cardiff in 2017.

Another option is England’s Test captain Joe Root, who has been an ever-present in the series.

England lead Pakistan 2-0 in the five-match series, after the first game was abandoned, with matches at Nottingham and Leeds to come.

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